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Sunday Salon Materiality IV

2/4/18

Join us for an engaging talk with artists Jackie Brown, Jonathan Mess and Aaron T Stephan discussing their work in the exhibition Materiality | The Matter of Matter. Stay after the talk for further conversation and refreshments.

Jackie Brown is a sculpture installation artist living in Bath. Her work stems from an interest in nature, science, and living systems, which is compelled by the idea that nature is malleable and can shift and adapt with limitless possibilities for growth, movement, and transformation. An important undercurrent is an interest in the human manipulation of living systems, particularly advances in bioengineering and experiments that involve combining or altering the basic components of nature. With this in mind, Brown works to create imagined biological systems where it can often be intentionally difficult to tell if the forms are healthy or harmful.

Jonathan Mess’ work is characterized by experimental abstraction using reclaimed ceramic materials and referencing natural land forms. He constantly pushes his materials and processes into new territory, developing a low-waste making system by collecting discarded ceramic materials and recycling them into new forms. Clay is an essential material because he can literally use the earth’s crust as a medium. His goal is to not only push his work with new forms and materials, but also to push the overall ceramic conversation regarding sustainability and our relationship to the earth. He is committed to developing an environmentally responsible practice, creating compelling art objects that elicit excitement and environmental dialogue.

Aaron T Stephan is an artist living and working in Portland, Maine. His work presents a wry look at the world around him – focusing on complex web of information carried by everyday materials and objects. His work has taken form as a twenty-foot high table and chairs, a shelter made entirely of books, and a series of drawings reproducing iconic artworks ad infinitum.